HUNDREDS of students across Swindon are being invited to take part in a competition with cash prizes to celebrate their talent.

Four business owners from Swindon and the Cotswolds have raised thousands of pounds in sponsorship to launch the contest aimed at young people who would have been taking their GCSEs, A Levels or equivalent examinations in 2021.

At the beginning of the first lockdown in March last year, a team of self-employed professionals Nigel Chute (Chute Design), Allison Murray (Allison Murray Design), Chris Roberts (Chris Roberts MBE PR) and Fiona Scott (Scott Media) founded The Cotswold Challenge to provide support and an educational initiative to 15-to-19 year-old students who were going to miss out on their GCSE and A-Level exams.

The team is launching their competition again from June 1, giving young people from the Cotswolds and across Swindon the chance to win a prize judged by people who are successful in their profession.

The team believe that the past year’s Year 11, 12 and 13 students, who have been penned ‘the lost Covid generation’ need to be able to showcase their talent and be rewarded for what has been, without doubt, a very tough time for them all.

Fiona Scott runs her business Scott Media from Swindon and has lived in the town since 1997.

She said: “My daughter was one of those young people last year who left school with 48 hours’ notice, with no A level examinations, no long goodbye with friends and it was heart-breaking. To be able to offer young people an opportunity to shine in another forum is amazing.

“We felt it was right do the same thing this year and the first prize winners will get £500 each and a mini professional photo shoot to support them on the next stage of their lives.”

The initiative was successful in 2020, with around 500 young people entering the categories of art and design, creative writing, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking.

The prizes in each category are £500 for first place, £300 for second,£150 for third, £50 for fourth and there will be £25 book tokens for four students in each category who are highly commended.

This year there will also be a Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Talent chosen by The Cotswold Challenge team and given to one person in each category.

The Cotswold Challenge 2021 will be launched on Tuesday June 1 and the final closing date will be July 6, with judging taking place later that month.

Visit www.thecotswoldchallenge.com or email allison@allisonmurraydesign.com or chrisrobertsmbe@gmail.com